For centuries the people of Gloucester, England, have sent a lamprey pie to the reigning royals in celebrations of important occasions. Due to declining numbers, the pie for the Queen's Diamond jubilee will be made from imported lampreys.

John Keohane recently retired as the Chief Yeoman Warder, or Beefeater, of the Tower of London. In a short clip from the documentary On the Road With The Chief Beefeater, Matthew Stadlen discusses the dress uniform. (video)

April 24th

The world seems to be changing very quickly with climate change, economic turmoil and culture wars taking place around the globe. Scientists studying global change believe much can be learned from the Vikings and how they adapted to their turbulent world.

April 23rd

Modern people are often surprised to find that their medieval ancestors left them a legacy in their occupational surnames. The website What did people do: in a Medieval City? identifies professions of the Middle Ages and what those people did.

For the past year, a team of art historians has been working on a conservation project for Hubert and Jan van Eyck’s “Mystic Lamb,” better known as the Ghent Altarpiece. Along with the conservation, the altarpiece has been photographed at extremely high resolution to be released online.

John Clements, Director of ARMA (Association for Renaissance Martial Arts), is often asked “What shoes should I train in?” In response, he has written an article on Historical Fencing Footwear available on the group's website. (photos)

At Gulf Wars XXI, Sir Geoffrey was tasked by Their Majesties of Meridies to capture the fun and frolic at the Meridies-sponsored Grand Social. The theme was "Super Heros." Sir Geoffrey's slide show of the event is available online.

April 22nd

The magic of Valentine's Day was felt recently at the Bodleian Library In Oxford, England with an exhibition celebrating "the stories of medieval romance and how they have influenced culture, literature and art over the last thousand years."

Performers dressed as gladiators will no longer be able to make money having their photos taken with tourists, according to city officials. NPR commentator Renee Montagne has the brief audio report for Morning Edition.

The Special Commission on the Computer-Supported Processing of Mediæval Slavonic Manuscripts and Early Printed Books has created a website to faciliate the study of Cyrillic and Glagolitic manuscripts and early printed books.

"It is something we value and respect and feel honoured and proud to be among the first women freemen to be sworn in," said Karen Crawford about her acceptance into the City of Durham (England) Freemen's ancient craft guilds, a 700-year-old tradition that up until now banned women.

April 21st

In a world where the college experience usually involves football and parties, students of Justin McDaniel's religious studies class at the University of Pennsylvania should expect something differrent: a firsthand experience of what it's like to be a monk.

On the blog Past Imperfect for the online version of Smithsonian Magazine, Michael D. Blodgett tries to find "Nice Things to Say About Attila the Hun." The greatest, he feels was Attila's "refusal to be seduced by wealth."

A tombstone, bearing the name of “Frau Dolze” daughter of “Herr Asher,” has been discovered in Erfurt, Germany near the city’s Old Synagogue. The marker, one of 58, dates to the year 1259. Officials in the city have applied to make the cemetery a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.

April 19th

Marcia Ross of ORR High School in southeastern Massachusetts has found a unique way to teach elementary school age children Latin. She frames the after-school enrichment program as "Latin through the eyes of a gladiator."

Belgian archeologists Fabienne Pigière and Denis Henrotay have found evidence of camels in Belgium, specifically, camels used by the Romans near military and civilian towns. Their report can be found in an upcoming article for the Journal of Archaeological Science.

Cateline la broderesse reports that she has created an album of photos from Ironbog Baronial Birthday which took place recently in the Kingdom of the East. The photos are available on her Picasa website.

April 18th

Visitors to Caerleon, near Newport in south Wales have long admired the huge 1st century Roman amphitheater, the site of gladiatorial combat, but new discoveries point to the area as an important Roman outpost in Britain. (video)

Police in Dublin, Ireland are puzzled by the theft of the heart of St Laurence O'Toole, a 12th century relic housed at Christ Church Cathedral. The heart, in a wooden box, was stolen March 2, 2012 when the protective metal bars were cut.